Mezzan Holding, a leading manufacturer and distributor of food, beverage, FMCG and pharmaceutical products in the Gulf, has reported a net profit of KD5.5 million ($18 million) for the first quarter of the year, up 24.8 per cent as compared to the same period last year.

The firm recorded a revenue of KD52.9 million, up 10.6 per cent, said a statement.

Mezzan Holding is currently in the final stages of listing on the Kuwait Stock Exchange following an oversubscribed secondary offering that was concluded on May 12 of this year, it said.

Khalid Jassim Al Wazzan, chairman, said: “We are pleased to report growth in profit for the first quarter in almost all our business divisions. Our consumer-driven business, which generates over 76 per cent of our revenue, had a strong quarter driven by new production lines, expansion into new market segments and enhanced distribution efficiencies.

“We expect to continue generating growth in both revenues and net profit in coming quarters as we increase our production capacity across our product lines.”

Meanwhile, the firm’s fully-owned subsidiary Kitco completed the construction of a new Kettle Chips line with an annual production capacity 2.1 million units.

In Qatar, it began the installation of a new water bottling production line. On completion, it will lift the production capacity from 23,000 bottles an hour to 56,000 bottles an hour. Its bottled water brands include Dana and Aqua Gulf.

In Kuwait, a new contract-catering facility has been launched, lifting the company’s catering capacity from 10,000 meals a day to 20,000 meals a day.  

The company started distributing Starbucks Coffee chilled products to co-operative and private supermarkets as part of a distribution agreement with Arla Foods, which Kuwait Lube Oil Company (KLOC), a fully-owned subsidiary, inaugural a new refinery.

In Iraq, the company launched new retail consumer stores in Erbil and Dohuk, while it completed the construction of a new warehouse to strengthen its distribution in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region. - TradeArabia News Service